In the field of spectroscopy it is known to provide a microscope which can operate in conjunction with a spectrophotometer. Such apparatus are used to obtain infrared spectra of samples. A known microscope is the Perkin-Elmer FT-IR microscope which is described for example in an article by D. W. Shearing, E. F. Young and T. P. Byron entitled "An FT-IR microscope", published in American Laboratory, November 1990. Such a microscope includes a movable stage on which a sample to be investigated can be mounted. The microscope permits both visible observation of the sample and analysis of the sample by infrared radiation, either in a transmitting mode or a reflectance mode. The microscope also includes a video camera which can be used in conjunction with the visible viewing means in order to generate a video image of the sample for display on the display means of a computer.
The microscope can be used in conjunction with a spectrophotometer such as a Perkin-Elmer System 2000 FT-IR spectrophotometer. This instrument can receive infrared radiation either transmitted via the sample or reflected from the sample and provide an output indicating the spectrum of the sample.
The stage of the microscope is movable so that in an initial step it can be moved in an X-Y plane to appropriately locate the sample so that analysis of a selected part of the sample can be achieved.